Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis • Pos.: OL • Bucs connection (6 seasons, 47 games, 32 starts): Manned starting left tackle spot for every game during '05-06 seasons. • Quote: "I let down some people in the NFL with my play. Some people gave up on me. This is a chance to go back there and show some of the friends and fans over there that I can still play this game."

NEW ORLEANS — Nik Vucevic sat alongside his teammates on the Orlando Magic bench Sunday night for the first time since he suffered a concussion on Jan. 6. The game must have been tough for him to watch because he might have made a big difference. The New Orleans Pelicans manhandled the Magic on the boards as the Magic lost 100-92 at New Orleans Arena. "Every game that we play, you can see that we need him," forward Tobias Harris said. "He's a big part of our team being one of the tallest guys out there.

JACKSONVILLE - Butterflies swirled inside Victor Oladipo's stomach as tipoff approached Wednesday night. He was about to make his NBA preseason debut, and as he stretched at center court before the national anthem, he saw Julius Erving, Rick Barry, George Gervin, Artis Gilmore and David Thompson sitting in the front row. You never could've guessed that Oladipo felt nervous or that he's a rookie learning to play point guard. It would be a mistake to get too carried away by his performance, but Oladipo was the obvious bright spot for the Magic as they lost their preseason opener to the New Orleans Pelicans 99-95 in front of an announced crowd of 9,274.

NEW ORLEANS — Nik Vucevic sat alongside his teammates on the Orlando Magic bench Sunday night for the first time since he suffered a concussion on Jan. 6. The game must have been tough for him to watch because he might have made a big difference. The New Orleans Pelicans manhandled the Magic on the boards as the Magic lost 100-92 at New Orleans Arena. "Every game that we play, you can see that we need him," forward Tobias Harris said. "He's a big part of our team being one of the tallest guys out there.

Kentucky forward Anthony Davis on Saturday was named the winner of the Wooden Award as the nation's best player. The 6-10 Davis, a former Perspectives-MSA standout, joined Kevin Durant, who won the award with Texas in 2007, as the only freshmen to earn the honor. Davis picked up the prestigious award a day after he was named the Associated Press Player of the Year. Davis, who averaged 14.3 points, 10 rebounds and 4.6 blocks per game, is the first SEC and Kentucky player to win the award since its inception in 1977.

If you had your choice right now, Orlando Magic fans, who would you take? Would you keep Dwight Howard or would you trade him for the No. 1 pick in the draft so you could take Kentucky's freshmen phenom Anthony Davis ? I realize this is strictly a hypothetical question, but in watching Davis throughout the NCAA Tournament I think it's an intriguing debate. Howard is no doubt the most dominant big man in the NBA right now, but Davis has the potential to perhaps become even better than Dwight.

LONDON — Sorry for the disturbance amid the parade of U.S. basketball royalty, but where's Anthony Davis ? LeBron James , Kobe Bryant , Chris Paul and the endless stream of umpteen-time All-Stars were at post-game interview sessions with reporters, but Davis couldn't be tracked down. Turned out he had already wandered into the locker room, figuring nobody wanted to talk to him. Why would they? He's a footnote, an asterisk after all the bold type and exclamation points in the oft-breathless coverage by international media of the U.S. team.

In their final minutes before officially becoming NBA players, Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist huddled together in the family seating area at the NBA draft at the Prudential Center. "We just said whatever happens, happens," Kidd-Gilchrist said Thursday night with a smile. "I'm so happy right now. " What happened is that three months after winning an NCAA title together, the two Kentucky freshman were again on top of the basketball world as they became the first players ever from the same school to be taken with the top two picks in the NBA draft.

LONDON — Sorry for the disturbance amid the parade of U.S. basketball royalty, but where's Anthony Davis ? LeBron James , Kobe Bryant , Chris Paul and the endless stream of umpteen-time All-Stars were at post-game interview sessions with reporters, but Davis couldn't be tracked down. Turned out he had already wandered into the locker room, figuring nobody wanted to talk to him. Why would they? He's a footnote, an asterisk after all the bold type and exclamation points in the oft-breathless coverage by international media of the U.S. team.

LONDON --- In the span of just over two years, Tyson Chandler has won an NBA championship with the Mavericks, a Defensive Player of the Year award with the Knicks , a gold medal at the FIBA World Championships and now is the lone center on the gold medal favorite team here. In the span of just over one year, Anthony Davis has won an NCAA championship with Kentucky, got drafted No. 1 overall by the Hornets and landed as the 12 th man on the Olympic roster when Blake Griffin pulled out to injury.

The New Orleans Hornets announced first-round draft choices Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers have signed their rookie contracts. The moves, announced by the club Tuesday, are formalities for players chosen in the first round. The values of their rookie deals are outlined in the NBA 's collective bargaining agreement. As the first pick in this summer's draft, the 6-foot-11 Davis receives a three-year guaranteed contract worth a little more than $16 million, with just over $5 million paid in the first year.

NEW ORLEANS -- Anthony Davis, the Chicago native who led Kentucky to the NCAA title and was drafted No. 1 by New Orleans, may have to withdraw from U.S. Olympic team consideration after spraining his left ankle during a Hornets workout Sunday. Davis, who is among the players being considered for the American squad at the London Olympics, is officially listed as day-to-day. He reportedly was set to audition this week for Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski. The 6-foot-11 center will be evaluated later in the week to determine his availability to practice with Team USA.

The NBA draft is a crapshoot, we're all told. If you're lucky, you might win the number one pick in a year when a surefire player -- not star -- emerges. The New Orleans have that pleasure in this year's draft with Anthony Davis and the Charlotte Bobcats have one in Michael Kidd-Gilchrist . The feeling with Davis is that he need never improve and would still be a valuable player in the NBA due to his size, athleticism, defense and skill set, while there is no doubt Kidd-Gilchrist's prodigious work ethic will fill the serious holes in his game.From there, so the feeling goes, is that every other player could go one-way or the other.

The Celtics were exploring a number of avenues to make an impact in the upper reaches of last night's NBA draft . Their players already have. Anthony Davis , Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (the top two picks of last night's draft) and Austin Rivers (10th pick) say they've already benefited from knowing and speaking with some Celtics All-Stars. While Rivers has obviously been around the Celts a while because of his dad/coach Doc, he received an important talking to from Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett during the playoffs.

AS THE final seconds of Kentucky 's national championship ticked away in New Orleans, I caught myself wondering how good this team might have become in a different time. Can you imagine Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist as seniors or even juniors? UK was not that far away from an unbeaten season with two freshmen stars. I get that it is not reality and never will be again. Still, dreaming remains legal. It is also fair to say it is much easier to win in this era, because so few teams have veteran NBA -level talent.

In their final minutes before officially becoming NBA players, Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist huddled together in the family seating area at the NBA draft at the Prudential Center. "We just said whatever happens, happens," Kidd-Gilchrist said Thursday night with a smile. "I'm so happy right now. " What happened is that three months after winning an NCAA title together, the two Kentucky freshman were again on top of the basketball world as they became the first players ever from the same school to be taken with the top two picks in the NBA draft.